Fine Tuning

A 1934 Mercedes-Benz W25. The first of the legendary Silver Arrows. As a kid I read so many magazine articles and books about the historic Formula One cars and drivers and, on Sunday, I was in absolute awe as I saw them bring out the starter and crank this storied machine to life.

Here, on the right of the car you can just see the eight pipes leaving the engine and joining into one massive pipe that points directly at the back end. No muffler, nothing to get in the way of perfect exhaust flow. And nothing to get in the way of the unbelievably loud but fantastic sounds that seventy year old engine makes. The mechanic on the left manually twisted the throttle linkage over and over, warming up the engine and listening intently for any little sign of disorder. There was none. You could almost feel the presence of Alfred Neubauer, the exacting Mercedes team manager who brought them success for thirty years.

Those four tall, skinny tires had to hold the 350hp cars on the road at speeds as high as 315km/h. It really blows my mind that famous names like Rudolf Caracciola and Hermann Lang raced cars like this one (perhaps even this one?) and it was sitting right in front of me. I don't have any more information on this exact car and if anyone has more, I'd love to hear from you. The only identifying feature I have on it is the large number 244 in black on the side.

Every year near Freiburg there is a historic rally and hillclimb event called the Schauinsland Klassik and we managed to catch the events there on Sunday. I had no idea but, in the twenties and thirties there were hillclimbs at Schauinsland and Caracciola won there along with another legend, Bernd Rosemeyer.

In 2009, when I was here on vacation, we went to the top of Schauinsland and the view is incredible. You can see mountains in France, Switzerland and Germany from the top. We took the gondola up but, now that I know the history of the twisty road, I'd love to drive it.

To be in the Black Forest, at a mountain from which you can see the Swiss Alps, watching a race which includes cars like a Silver Arrow is so loaded with history it just about makes my head explode.

Just seeing the car made my day, listening to it was even better but then I got to see it drive. Shots of that will come later.

Fine Tuning

A 1934 Mercedes-Benz W25. The first of the legendary Silver Arrows. As a kid I read so many magazine articles and books about the historic Formula One cars and drivers and, on Sunday, I was in absolute awe as I saw them bring out the starter and crank this storied machine to life.

Here, on the right of the car you can just see the eight pipes leaving the engine and joining into one massive pipe that points directly at the back end. No muffler, nothing to get in the way of perfect exhaust flow. And nothing to get in the way of the unbelievably loud but fantastic sounds that seventy year old engine makes. The mechanic on the left manually twisted the throttle linkage over and over, warming up the engine and listening intently for any little sign of disorder. There was none. You could almost feel the presence of Alfred Neubauer, the exacting Mercedes team manager who brought them success for thirty years.

Those four tall, skinny tires had to hold the 350hp cars on the road at speeds as high as 315km/h. It really blows my mind that famous names like Rudolf Caracciola and Hermann Lang raced cars like this one (perhaps even this one?) and it was sitting right in front of me. I don't have any more information on this exact car and if anyone has more, I'd love to hear from you. The only identifying feature I have on it is the large number 244 in black on the side.

Every year near Freiburg there is a historic rally and hillclimb event called the Schauinsland Klassik and we managed to catch the events there on Sunday. I had no idea but, in the twenties and thirties there were hillclimbs at Schauinsland and Caracciola won there along with another legend, Bernd Rosemeyer.

In 2009, when I was here on vacation, we went to the top of Schauinsland and the view is incredible. You can see mountains in France, Switzerland and Germany from the top. We took the gondola up but, now that I know the history of the twisty road, I'd love to drive it.

To be in the Black Forest, at a mountain from which you can see the Swiss Alps, watching a race which includes cars like a Silver Arrow is so loaded with history it just about makes my head explode.

Just seeing the car made my day, listening to it was even better but then I got to see it drive. Shots of that will come later.